Overview

• Statistics Korea reported 358,569 deaths in 2024, a 1.7% increase from the prior year.
• The crude death rate rose to 702.6 per 100,000 people, up 1.9% year over year.
• Deaths by suicide climbed to 14,872, a 6.3% rise, equal to 29.1 per 100,000 and the highest since 2011.
• Suicide was the leading cause of death for ages 10–49 and, for the first time, for those in their 40s, while ranking second for people in their 50s.
• Cancer (24.8%), heart disease (9.4%) and pneumonia (8.4%) remained the top overall causes, and South Korea’s suicide rate of 26.2 per 100,000 led the OECD versus the 10.8 average.